What Tangled Webs We Weave
by tgwWhale
Summary: Romance and friendship: two of the glories of being alive - or they should be. But when deceit and jealousy touch people's lives, even those things can lead to destruction. And if those touched by deceit and jealousy are magical girls of great power, awful things can happen. And so they did...
1. Prologue

_This story is set immediately after the conclusion of the Tokyo Mew Mew anime. Thus Ichigo and her friends are about 14 years old. Pudding is about 5 years younger. Zakuro's age is always a problem. I am told that in the manga she is only a couple of years older than Ichigo; but the anime hints that she is older than that. This story assumes that she is about 5 years older than Ichigo._

_Sailor Moon and her Guardian Senshi are about a year older than Ichigo and her friends, or about 15 years old. The Sailor Moon saga must have occurred at least up through Season 3 (Sailor Moon S), because the Outer Senshi are known and are part of the story. _

* * *

Prologue

Rei's eyes suddenly snapped open. Her body was drenched in sweat, her teeth hurt from grinding together, her breaths came in painful gasps, and her sweat-soaked dark hair was twisted about her face. It was still dark; the clock said 2:34 in the morning. Her body trembled. But it had been a dream.

For others, it could have been said that it was only a dream. But there was no such thing as "only a dream" to Rei; she was a magical, mystical girl, and her dreams carried portents and intimations of things that had happened, or things to come. And so the things of her dream – so vivid to her, and so horrible – were real dangers. She had to understand them.

She rose up in the bed, and placing her feet on the floor, she pushed her flowing dark hair out of her face. She made herself think, made herself remember the details. There had been terrible monsters, monsters that were only half-human because they were half beasts. And the monsters were magical and strong. They attacked Tokyo and wrought terrible destruction, and the Sailor Senshi had gone out to fight them. For Rei was one of the great Sailor Senshi – Sailor Mars.

But they had lost, and one after another they had fallen to the monsters. And finally Sailor Moon herself went out to fight them, and the horrid things had withered under her attack; but the monsters' numbers had seemed endless, and even Sailor Moon had fallen to them. And thus the dream ended, as Rei had knelt beside Sailor Moon's lifeless body, and the monsters rose up around her to kill.

Rei now rose from the bed. She knew that she would sleep no more that night, and she did not want to: she wanted no more of that dream. She made her way to the sacred fire in the shrine, and kneeling before the fire, she chanted her incantations and stared into the fire, looking for some portent of hope, or some clear vision of what the monsters were and where they came from. But in the dancing flames she could see only images of death, destruction, and hopelessness. Over and over she saw in the fire signs of the Grim Reaper, and she knew: the end was upon them. And so she sat in silence, as the minutes and hours painfully crept by. In the morning she would have to tell the others that their end was at hand.


	2. Chapter 1: Too Soft

Chapter 1  
Too Soft

"There it is," Haruka said.

Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune gazed down the hill through the park's greenery. There at the bottom of the hill the woods ended, and a bench sat on the edge of the park trail. And next to the bench stood a monster. It did not see them, hidden as they were by the trees and bushes, though it seemed to be alert.

It didn't look all that monstrous. It was mostly human in form, looking rather like a young teenaged girl, and it was human in size. But it had a beast's ears and tail. And thus Sailor Pluto had described the new threat to Tokyo and to the world: half-human, half-animal monsters, agents of death and destruction. This had to be one of them! But it did not look all that monstrous.

And it didn't act all that monstrous. It was not rampaging through the city, killing and destroying. Instead it simply stood there next to the park bench, looking around for something. But it was clearly a monster.

Kaioh Michiru, Sailor Neptune, chuckled quietly. "So that's the terrible monster we have to stop? It doesn't look like such a problem at all."

Tenoh Haruka, Sailor Uranus, responded, "Yeah, this one looks easy. But remember, Setsuna said that there were a lot of them. Maybe the others are more powerful, or maybe they overwhelm you with numbers."

"Well, this one we'll get easily enough," Michiru said.

They watched for a short while longer, taking care to check if any more of the creatures were around, but none appeared. The thing turned to face them, but still did not see them back in the trees at the top of the hill.

Michiru frowned as she next spoke. "You know, that pink is truly awful. Whatever that thing is, it has no taste at all." For the creature, being primarily in human form, was all in pink, with a rather silly, frilly pink minidress, pink hair, and even pink eyes. Its animal tail and ears, though, were black.

"Really?" Haruka chuckled. "But she is kind of cute. Nice body there, nice chest. Would be rather fun to play with, I would think." She chuckled again.

Michiru rolled her eyes. She herself would never be caught dead in such a corny outfit; in her white and aqua-green Sailor Neptune outfit she was a vision of elegance and class. Now she snorted quietly. "There you go again! It's bad enough that you hit on every cute girl that walks in front of your face. But that thing isn't even human!"

Haruka chuckled yet again. "Jealous, Michiru? You know, I think that tail's rather sexy. Too bad that we have to take her down."

"I wonder just how you'd take her down, if I wasn't here," Michiru snorted. She was still a bit angry.

Haruka smiled, shaking her head at her companion. "You know, that jealousy doesn't suit you." She turned back to the monster. "I suppose I could take it out myself, so you wouldn't dirty your fingernails."

"Don't be a fool, Haruka." Michiru was still scowling. "There's no reason to take chances. The two of us together will be safer if it turns out to have more power than it seems to have."

"Never ready to take chances to have fun, are you?" Haruka said with a twisted smile. "Well, you always were a softie."

Michiru turned away from her. "You think I'm a softie, do you? Well, let's get on with it, and let's make a game of it. I'll bet you I'm the one that takes the thing down."

"In your dreams!" Haruka snapped back. "I'll get it, that's for sure. And when I win, you'll have to cook and clean for the next month, all by yourself."

Michiru shook her head. "Most of the time, I do all of that anyway. But if I win, well – tonight, I get to be on top."

Haruka laughed openly. "As I said, in your dreams!" And she sprinted out to the left, heading down the hill toward the monster.

Michiru herself went to the right, looking for a good place to attack from, a place that gave her a clear shot at the beast. But before she could let fly her attack, she heard a voice chant, "_Earth… Shaking!_"

Haruka's mighty blast tore along the ground and engulfed the pink monster. That should finish her, Michiru thought; it had been long since they had seen anyone who could resist her companion's power. A great blast of earth exploded around their enemy. But when the smoke cleared, the creature still stood, holding some reddish-pink object in its hand. Whatever it was, that object had blocked Haruka's strongest attack!

And now the creature was running, fleeing down the hill below the park bench. Michiru raced to keep up with it. Haruka let fly again: _"Earth Shaking!"_ But the creature was quick, and this attack was a clean miss. Then the pink thing spun up into the air, and let fly its own magical attack; and scintillating light poured from its weapon towards Haruka. The blast was withering, and Michiru thought she heard her friend scream. Had that accursed creature brought her down?

Michiru wanted to get closer; she was too far away for a good attack. But the monster seemed to be getting the better of Haruka, and Michiru had to act quickly. So she let fly her attack: _"Deep Submerge!"_ And a glowing ball of energy-charged water raced toward the thing in pink. It would have hit the thing, too, but whatever the thing was, it was quick. It held up its weapon, and blocked Michiru's attack. The ball of water shattered into nothingness.

Then another Earth Shaking attack crashed upon the creature. And Michiru breathed a little easier, for Haruka was still up and fighting. This gave Michiru the chance to slip to her right through the bushes, and come up completely behind their enemy. She could hear the screaming and the fighting, and knew that the battle continued, but for a minute it continued out of her sight behind the bushes.

When she emerged from the bushes, the creature was not in sight. It was not where it had been! Had it fled further into the woods? Michiru was ready to continue down the hill when off to her left more wild battle broke out. The thing had doubled back and attacked Haruka! Michiru sprinted up the hill, running to the sound of the fighting. And then she saw the pink thing, up in the air and descending as its weapon poured out its destruction. And this time she was sure that she heard Haruka's scream.

She was close to the thing now, and she could see that it had taken a lot of damage. It was exposed for a fatal attack, as it was focused completely on its battle with Haruka and was not aware of Michiru behind it. _"Deep Submerge!"_ she chanted, and put every bit of power she had into the attack. The deadly ball of energy-laced water raced toward the beast, and reached it just as it touched the ground after blasting Haruka. It hit the thing directly, full in the back, and exploded upon it. And the thing in pink was blasted forward upon its face. It tumbled along the ground and then lay still, face down in the dirt, utterly defeated.

Michiru strutted up to the fallen creature. Her booted foot nudged it a few times, but it made no response at all; it seemed very dead. Michiru worried if her friend Haruka had survived the battle, but only for a few seconds, for Sailor Uranus stepped out of the trees up ahead and walked somewhat unsteadily up to Michiru and her victim. Haruka was all marked up; she had taken quite a beating from the monster's attacks.

The victorious Sailor Neptune planted her foot upon the beast's body, and chanted: "Herald of a new age, Sailor Neptune, acting with elegance!" Then a nasty smile split her lips. "And tonight, I'm on top, Haruka."

Sailor Uranus scowled openly. "In your dreams!" she muttered, and turned away, stalking back into the trees.

The smile left Michiru's face. Haruka was always such a bad loser. She was so immature that way! But Neptune had won; she had destroyed the monster. She would be on top that evening! She really didn't care that much about being on top; but she knew Haruka hated being anything but on top, and so tonight Michiru would rub her nose in it and demand just that. For she had won!

She looked down at the creature, wondering if any life remained in it. She knew she should hit it again, to finish it off if it still lived. But she hated doing that. The thing didn't look like a monster at all. The pink outfit was ugly and inelegant, but the creature looked like a young girl, even with its animal ears and tail. And even the tail had a battered, torn red bow tied to it, as if was someone's beloved pet. Michiru knelt down beside it, and felt its neck for a pulse. And a life beat was there; weak, failing, but still there for a few more seconds. Michiru knew that she should finish it off, put it out of its misery; but she did not have the heart to do it.

And as she knelt there, she felt her eyes grow moist, and a tear leaked out. Haruka always said she was too soft, and maybe she was. She did not want to finish the creature. It was a monster but it looked like a girl, and she had never seen it hurt anyone or anything. Another tear dripped down her face, this one from the other eye.

And then, suddenly, the monster changed. The ears and tail were gone, and the pink was gone. Michiru's hand now touched the neck of a young girl, just a kid, maybe 13 or 14 years old. Her hair was thick, and red; and she wore a gray school uniform. Her face was battered and covered with black marks, but it had once been pretty. Michiru knew what she had seen, for she had seen such things so many times before: a magical girl losing her transformation. There she lay, dying. And Michiru was her killer.

She looked like such an innocent, as she weakly gasped her few last breaths. She was just a kid, a kid that had a mother and father somewhere, and maybe brothers or sisters, and surely friends. And they would all weep for her, for Michiru had murdered her. Michiru tried to tell herself over and over that she was a monster, a threat to Tokyo and all the world, a half-animal creature of evil that must be stopped. But she looked like a girl and nothing more, and Michiru's tears began to flow. She told herself that stopping this creature was her duty, to save the world: Sailor Pluto had said so, and she was wise and knew these things. Thus she told herself, but she knew that the girl's parents would weep over their daughter, and the tears poured from her eyes. She was too soft, Haruka had always said, and Haruka was right. She wished Haruka was here, because she was strong, and hard, and she would have the strength to finish this creature off and lead Michiru away. But she was not there.

And Michiru decided: she would not leave. She was the murderer, but she would not let this poor girl die alone. Michiru's throat was tight now, and her breaths were coming in quiet gasps. She laid her hand on the girl's head and closed her eyes. Her tears poured down and dripped on the girl's still body while she waited for the end.

* * *

_Author''s note: Sailor Uranus' propensity to hit on cute girls (especially girls younger than herself), and Sailor Neptune's jealousy in response to that, are taken from the (Japanese) anime: episodes #92 and #101 in the numbering used by the Sailor Moon Center. (These episodes appear early in Season 3, "Sailor Moon S.") I have been told that in at least some of the dubbed versions, the relationship between Haruka and Michiru is not romantic. But in the original Japanese, it is._


	3. Chapter 2: Too Hard

_Readers: Reviews are appreciated, even if they are negative. I am not offended by negative comments._

_tgwWhale_

* * *

**Chapter 2  
Too Hard  
**

In anger Sailor Uranus stalked away. That Michiru had a lot of nerve, thinking that she could be on top! That softie had held back while Haruka had taken the brunt of the monster's attack, and after Haruka had her all but finished, she had sneaked up behind the monster and finished it off with a cheap shot in the back. Sometimes Haruka wondered why she ever put up with that Michiru. She was so filled with petty jealousy, and reacted so childishly every time Haruka looked at another girl! Haruka could do so much better for herself. She could even have Sailor Moon – she was sure of it. That would be far better than wasting herself on that prissy Michiru!

Thus she thought, over and over, as she stalked away from the field of battle. That monster had been far tougher than it looked, with its frilly pink minidress and all. In some ways, it reminded her of Michiru, who was also too effeminate and liked frilly things too much. Still, if that cowardly Neptune hadn't taken that cheap shot into the monster's back, she, Sailor Uranus, would have taken it down and finished it off. After all, in the end, it was a weakling, just like Michiru.

She climbed up the slope of the hill through the trees, passing the park bench where the monster had stood when they first saw it, then reaching the place at the top of the hill where they had first watched the vile creature. She turned and looked back, but Michiru and her victim were lost in the trees below. She would leave them behind, she decided. That night Michiru would be on top of nothing. She headed down the other side of the hill. There were still trees on that side, but no bushes, and she could move more quickly. She would get to the car, and take off, going wherever the road led. And that Michiru could walk home.

Then, ahead of her, she saw movement: something in bright yellow. It was coming quickly, bouncing through the woods. Haruka slipped behind a tree and froze, watching the creature draw nearer. Then it skipped out into the open, and Haruka could see: it was another of those blasted monsters.

It was small, and looked like a child. Its outfit was yellow, and silly, almost like a clown's. Its hair was blonde, and it would have been a rather cute little kid, if it had been human. But it had the animal tail and ears of a monster. The tail was long and the ears were small, rather like a monkey's. And Haruka thought: this one she would take down by herself. She wouldn't let Michiru out-do her.

And so, when the creature drew near, Haruka suddenly stepped out from behind the tree, and attacked: "Éarth Shaking!" The deadly sphere sped across the ground at the monster. But the small creature suddenly leaped into the air, and the magical attack exploded beneath it. It had to have taken some damage from the explosion, Haruka thought; but she had not brought it down. It fled into the trees like the monkey it was, bouncing from branch to branch.

But Haruka was very fast herself, and she pursued the creature, sprinting through the woods. She hurled her attack against the creature twice more, but the Earth Shaking attack, with its explosive sphere that traveled along the ground, was not really good against an enemy above in the trees. So her attacks brought trees down, but failed to stop the little monkey. And after the last explosion, she lost sight of the creature.

Haruka stopped running. Her eyes searched from her right to her left, trying to find where the little monster had gone. In its bright yellow it would find it hard to hide! Then, up in the air to her left, her eye caught something: the creature was tumbling in the air, and then it chanted something like, _"Ribbon: Pudding…"_ There were more words, but Haruka could not catch just what they were. But the monster was sending some kind of attack upon her! She tried to avoid it, but was too late, and some ugly substance buried her.

It didn't hurt, but Haruka was paralyzed in the substance. Then she realized what it was: she was buried in, of all things… _pudding!_ Pudding! Did that foolish creature think that she could be held in pudding? Fierce anger rose in Haruka's heart, and in that heart she chanted, "Earth… shaking!" And she burst out of the magical pudding.

And she saw the idiot creature in yellow as it tried to escape. Now she would have it! She bounded after it as it fled, and she got a to good position to destroy it. It could not escape her, this time! But just as she was about to unleash the fatal attack, she heard a chant above her: _"Ribbon: Minto Echo!"_ And searing pain ripped through her body as the magical attack from the air above crashed into her. She fell to her knee, but was rising again to fight back, when she heard, _"Ribbon: Lettuce Rush!"_ Her eyes saw something in green to her right just before a magical water blast bowled her over, shocking her severely. And before she could rise, off to her left, there was yet another chant, as some half-beast in purple let fly: _"Ribbon: Zakuro Spear!"_ Something horrible lashed her, and pain beyond anything she had ever felt tore into her. She collapsed in a heap on the ground, in uncontrolled agony; but then the merciful darkness took her, and she felt no more.


	4. Chapter 3: Choices

**Chapter 3  
Choices  
**

Tomoe Hotaru watched silently from the shadows beneath the trees. There were four of the creatures, dressed in blue, green, yellow, and purple; and all but the green one were clearly monsters with animal tails. These were obviously the ones that Setsuna had told them about, the ones that had to be destroyed to save the world.

And Hotaru was sure that she had the power to destroy them. For she was Sailor Saturn, the Soldier of Death and Rebirth, whose power of destruction was second only to that of Sailor Moon herself. She had, in her Silence Glaive, power to destroy the entire world. But she could not use that power, for her enemies were gathered around the fallen form of Sailor Uranus, and if she struck down those monsters, then Haruka would die with them. Of course, Haruka may have been dead already. Hotaru had not seen her still form move. But magical girls are notoriously hard to kill, she knew; so there was a chance that her friend Haruka still lived. So she waited, and listened. For the monsters were capable of speech. After all, they were half-human. And they spoke Japanese, which Hotaru understood.

As Hotaru crept near enough to understand, she first heard the blue-clad monster speak. The creature had small dark-feathered wings and tail, as of a bird. "Well, should we finish her?" the creature asked, looking to the tallest of the creatures.

The tall creature had a large bushy tail and large animal ears, as well as long, dark human hair and a purple outfit that bared her legs and her midriff. The creature shook its head and responded slowly. "If we kill her, we'll never get any information out of her. We don't even know who she is, or why she attacked Pudding-chan."

"Do you think she's the one that attacked Ichigo?" the creature in green asked.

The purple-clad creature again shook its head. "How would I know? All we know is that someone, or something, attacked Ichigo, and there was a lot of magical power thrown around. And Ichigo's transformation disappeared from Ryou's sensors."

'That means Ichigo's dead, doesn't it?" The green-clad monster had shockingly-bright green hair.

The tall creature in purple did not answer that question, but just shook its head. Then it spoke slowly. "I wonder… could this be Sailor Moon? The story is that Sailor Moon is a blonde. This girl wears a sailor suit, and she's blonde."

"Is Sailor Moon real?" the creature in green asked. "I thought she was just a manga character, and a Halloween costume for kids."

The tall creature turned to the one in green, and Hotaru could see her face fully for the first time. It was shocking; the creature was stunningly pretty, fully as beautiful as Sailor Neptune – Michiru – herself. "When they made that Sailor Moon movie last year, I tried out for the lead role. They said no, because they wanted a natural blonde. But there were at least some that thought that there was a lot of evidence that Sailor Moon was real," it said.

The small creature in yellow said, "My little sister has a Sailor Moon doll, I mean, 'action figure.' And the hair is very long. This one has really short hair, as short as mine."

"Hair can be cut," the tall monster said.

The bird-creature in blue then asked, "Well, what do we do? If we want to make her talk, we should take her back to the café."

But the tall purple monster said, "We don't have time. We have to find Ichigo. There's still a chance – I hope there's still a chance – that she's still alive. According to Ryou, the big fight was just west of here. We should search through there before we do anything else."

"Should one or two of us stay with this bimbo, just in case she wakes up?" the green-haired monster asked.

There was a pause. "It's more likely she'll die, than wake up," the purple monster answered. "But really, we need to stick together. We all saw how powerful she was. If there are more of them, our best chance of surviving would be sticking together. And with four of us searching, there's a better chance we'll find Ichigo. If we find Ichigo – or find her… body - or find that we can't find her, we'll come back here and see about this one. And if she gets away – well, it's more important we find Ichigo."

The blue bird-girl snorted at the last line, but said nothing. For a few seconds all was silent; but then the tall leader said, "Come on, let's get going. This way." She headed off away from Hotaru, and the others followed her.

And Hotaru watched them go. She pointed her Silence Glaive, but she still couldn't use it; Haruka was still in the line of fire. And the monsters had indicated that she was still alive. So she waited, and as the last of the monsters disappeared in the trees, heading up the hill to the west, she crept out toward the fallen Haruka.

Hotaru was a small, slender, frail-looking girl, with dark, mysterious eyes and straight black hair. Her age was just short of the teen years, and her body was just bumping up against puberty. She moved with great care and complete silence as she approached the fallen Sailor Uranus.

The tall, blonde girl's face was battered, and her sailor suit was dirty and torn. She was breathing, but barely so. She did not seem to have long to live. Those horrid monsters had really done a job on her. Sailor Saturn knelt beside her battered and broken body, and felt her neck for a pulse. Her orders, from Sailor Pluto, were to hunt down and destroy the monsters at any cost. She had said that all of Tokyo was in grave danger, and every second lost before crushing the monsters risked great destruction to innocent people. And of all the Outer Senshi, Hotaru had the most power to destroy the monsters.

But she had another power, a lesser one, perhaps, but a precious one. For she was not just the Sailor of Death. She was the Sailor of Death and Rebirth. She had a power that none of the other Senshi had, not even Sailor Moon. She had the power to heal. It was not a strong power, not like her power of destruction. If she used it, perhaps she could save Haruka's life. But then the monsters would escape, and Setsuna had commanded her to destroy them at any cost. And she always obeyed Setsuna's commands – always.

So she reached down, and took up her Silence Glaive, to pursue and destroy those terrible creatures. But then she stopped, and looked down upon her friend, and shook her head. Once again she knelt beside her, and she extended her right hand toward the fallen girl; and a soft glow surrounded that hand. She was disobeying Setsuna's command, she knew. But she had chosen: she would try to save Haruka, her friend.

* * *

Michiru blinked back the tears that filled her eyes and shook her head. The monster, now the girl, beside her refused to die. Given the terrible injuries she had received, she should have long since breathed her last. But she refused to die, fighting death with the same strength of spirit with which she had fought Michiru and Haruka. Twice now her breathing had stopped, but then, with a weak gasp, had begun again. She seemed so courageous, so noble, so unlike the half-animal monster that she was.

The tears began flowing freely again from Michiru's eyes, and once again dripping down on her fallen enemy. She would stay to the end, she had decided. But the end seemingly would take forever to come. How brave was this girl, how strong in spirit! What a shame it was that she had to die! Michiru broke down completely, sobbing quietly but uncontrollably. She so wished that Haruka could be there, to finish this pain by finishing the creature off.

Then, as her eyes opened again and looked down upon the red-haired girl-creature, she saw a shadow had fallen up them. She looked up, and four more of the creatures surrounded her, only a few feet away. One blue one, one green, one yellow, one purple; at least they didn't wear that awful pink. She stood to face them.

The purple one spoke. "Who are you? What are you?"

Michiru glanced around. She was surrounded and had no chance to escape. She would fight, but if these monsters had power like the pink one, she would have no chance in the fight. She said nothing.

The monster in purple raised its voice and repeated its questions in a demanding tone. The girl was tall – as tall as Haruka – slender, and attractive, save for the beast ears and tail. "Who are you? What are you?"

Michiru faced the tall creature. "I'm Kaioh Michiru. What are you?" She was ashamed of what she had done, and she was afraid that she faced her own death. But she would not cower before these creatures.

The monster in purple ignored her question. Instead, it asked, "Is she dead?"

Michiru looked down at the still girl. "Almost. Maybe she's gone, now."

"Who did that to her?" the creature demanded.

Michiru hesitated, staring now at her own feet. She had been taking care of her victim out of pity and could pretend that someone else had done it. Or she could tell the truth, but that would involve Haruka, and she didn't know if these things knew about her companion. So she settled for half the truth. "I did," she said quietly.

They all hestitated for a second, as if in shock, and then the beast-girl in green rose into the air and began spinning. But the tall creature in purple commanded, "No, Lettuce!" And the green-clad monster settled to the ground without attacking.

"But she killed Ichigo!" the green creature wailed.

"Maybe not yet," the other said. And it knelt next to the fallen girl.

The creature felt for a pulse, and laid its head on the battered girl's chest, listening for a heartbeat. Then it looked up. "Girls, I've got to try something here. If that bitch tries to escape or make any sort of an attack, blast her. Destroy her. No mercy!" Then it sat upon the ground and took the broken girl in her arms, laying the dying creature's red head against its own heart.

Then out from its skimpy top it drew something that it had worn on a fine chain. It seemed to be a tiny glass vial, and within it was something that gave off a faint bluish glow. The creature's lips began moving, though none could hear what words it spoke. Its eyes closed, and it pressed the glowing vial against the chest of the dying girl. A soft glow slowly surrounded the two creatures, a glow that grew brighter as the seconds passed. All the others watched in silence, their eyes wide in awe.

The many wounds of the battered girl began to fade. The creature in purple continued its mumbling, until after several minutes the glow faded. Then all was silent.

But the red-haired girl that had been dying now opened her eyes, and she gently smiled. "Zakuro-san! You saved me!"

The tall creature smiled back – a rare event. But before it could say anything, the girl in its arms gasped, "Hey! Look out! That's one of those that attacked me!" The girl's eyes were wide with fear.

But the tall beast-girl just smiled on, and half-whispered, "Don't worry – we captured her. She can't hurt you any more." Then the smile left its face. "What happened, Ichigo?"

The injured girl would not take her eyes off of Michiru, but she spoke, though slowly. "I was just standing there, by the park bench up the hill, when suddenly these girls attacked me with magic. I tried to fight back, but… but they got me. There was at least one more, a blonde one, and she attacked first. Then that one there attacked me. I was fighting the blonde one, and doing pretty well, but I lost track of that one here. And then I got it in the back, and…" She closed her eyes before finishing, "I can't remember any more after that, not until I woke up in your arms, and you were healing me somehow. You know, I didn't know you could heal, didn't know you had that power."

The tall creature said quietly, "I didn't know for sure, either, but I had to try something. You were dying, almost gone." She looked around at the other creatures before going on. "Ichigo, you said that the other one you fought was a blonde. Was she really tall and thin, with short hair?"

The injured girl nodded. "Yeah," she whispered, her voice weak and getting weaker.

And the dark-haired creature smiled at her again, and said in a low, soothing voice, "Don't worry about her, either. We got her, too."

The red-haired girl smiled softly, and then her eyes closed, and she slept on the tall creature's breast.

That creature looked up at the others, and said, quietly but firmly, "I'll have to get the car for her, and that'll take me a half-hour or more. You girls will have to stay here with Ichigo. Pudding, you hold her – I don't think you'll be able to hold one of those bitches with a pudding ring, so you hold on to Ichigo. You other two, keep an eye on the prisoner and also keep an eye out for any more of them. If the bitch tries to escape, kill her. If she tries to make any kind of attack, kill her. If you're attacked by anyone else, kill her. Understand?"

The creature in blue nodded, as did the little monster in yellow. But the green monster said, "I don't want to kill."

The tall creature responded, "After what she did to Ichigo, she deserves death right now. But if we can, we have to keep her alive, and get her to talk. We don't have any idea of what we're fighting here." It motioned to the little yellow creature, which got down on the ground beside the tall one; and it transferred the wounded girl to the little creature's arms. Then without another word, it rose, and bounded off into the woods, moving with great speed. In a few seconds it was out of sight.

Then the blue bird-creature said a single word as it pointed to the ground: "Sit." Michiru's instinct was to say no; she would not take orders from these things. With the bigger wolf-creature gone, she had a far better chance of winning a fight than she had before. But then the bird-thing chanted, _"Ribbon: Minto Echo!"_ And spinning in the air, it produced a harp-like thing, and that transformed into a bow with an energy-arrow. And as it came out of its spin, it bent the bow and aimed the arrow at Michiru's heart. And it barked, "I said, sit!"

Anger filled Michiru's eyes, but she could see that she would not do well fighting here. So she sat, and the green monster sat as well, facing her. The blue bird-creature remained standing, with her arrow aimed at Michiru. And Michiru pondered the whole situation, calculating the odds of a successful escape or even victory over these creatures, wondering if her companions would find her and crush these monsters to save her. And she wondered, too, if Haruka lived, for the purple monster had said that these horrid creatures had "got" her.

And Michiru was feeling really sorry for herself. If she had not been so soft, if she had just finished off the pink-clad creature or even simply left it lying, she would not have been captured. She could have escaped, and maybe helped Haruka fight these things. Now she didn't even know if her beloved still lived. Maybe she was dead – dead because Michiru had been too soft to properly do her duty. She was so angry with herself! Yet when she looked up and saw the red-haired girl sleeping in the arms of the little monkey-creature, she felt a strange relief, and once again tears came to her eyes. And she knew that if she had finished off that awful pink thing as it lay helpless and dying, she would not have slept well for long after. She had not the heart to kill the helpless, even if it was a helpless half-animal monster with a girl's face and an animal's tail. And another tear dripped from her eye.

Then the monster in green spoke quietly. "Lady, why were you crying?"

The words snapped Michiru out of her sad thoughts. "Huh? What did you say?" she asked.

The creature's huge green eyes were warm but sad. "You were crying when we came. And now you're crying again. Maybe now you're crying because we caught you. But that's not why you were crying then."

"It was so sad," Michiru mumbled. She knew she should say nothing to these things, but her heart ached for so many reasons. "I guess I'm just too weak… too weak to kill someone who's helpless. Even a monster."

The creature's voice grew even quieter. "You struck her down, but you pitied her? I think I understand that."

And Michiru suddenly knew that the green monster was as soft as she was. That would be the weakness she would exploit, she thought. That would be her key in escaping these awful things…

And it had to be the key to her escape. She had made all the wrong choices that day, because of the softness of her heart. And because of her choices, she was a prisoner, and Haruka might have been killed. If she could exploit the softness of this creature in green, perhaps she could escape and salvage the day yet. It had to be that way, for Haruka's sake, and maybe to save the world.


	5. Chapter 4: Prisoner

**Chapter 4  
Prisoner  
**

Michiru looked around at the room. It was quite barren, with only a small bed and a chair. There was a small bathroom to her right, as she stood, and the door out was to her left. The only window was high and very small, and she was sure she could not fit through it.

They had brought her to this place in the car, along with the injured red-haired girl. They had made her ride in the front, next to the tall monster, who drove. In the back seat, along with the injured girl, the blue bird-girl had ridden, and she had kept her deadly magical arrow aimed at the back of Michiru's head. The bird-creature seemed to have no pity in her heart, and seemed to be looking for any chance to kill her, so Michiru had not tried to escape on the ride. The car was a four-seat sports car, black and swift. Haruka would have loved to drive it, Michiru thought. That thought led her to her lover Haruka, and Michiru wondered if she were alive or dead. The monsters said nothing about her, save that they had "gotten" her, whatever that meant. Michiru needed to find out what had happened to Haruka, and needed to find out soon.

They had been in the car only about ten minutes when they arrived at their destination. It was a strange building, ugly and grotesque, a tall building of white, with far, far too much trim in an ugly, shocking pink. The sign out front identified the building as the "Café Mew Mew." It was apparently some kind of pastry shop and restaurant, though its location was well off the main thoroughfares. Michiru wondered if they ever got any business. Surely, if the fare they offered was anywhere close to being as ugly as the building, they would soon be out of business.

They had questioned her, of course, and threatened her. But she had told them nothing. These creatures had magical power, to be sure, but they were not to be compared to the other enemies the Senshi had fought, and defeated. Their threats meant nothing. Still, they held her as a prisoner, and she needed to escape. She had to find out what had happened to Haruka.

She looked around the room. There was no normal way out, save the locked door; she would have to blast through the wall. She had enough power within her to do that easily, of course. But to make the attack that would blast the wall, she would have to transform. And she was sure that the room was under video surveillance. So she had to transform when there were no enemies too close, for transforming took time. So she waited, listening carefully.

They had searched her when they brought her in. They had taken her cell phone, of course. But they couldn't find her transforming wand. These creatures, being so primitive, wore physical pendants that they needed for transforming. But the transforming wands of the Senshi appeared by magic when they were needed, so the search had not found her wand.

And now, the building was silent. Michiru was sure that many hours had passed since her capture; it was probably far into the night, well past midnight. She listened hard, but there were no noises. Her enemies must have slept peacefully, thinking that she could be held by the ugly walls of the Café Mew Mew. They would find out now it was not so.

She reached out her hand and chanted, "Neptune!" The transforming wand appeared in her hand, and the power began to flow through her as she chanted, "Neptune Star Power, MAKE-UP!"

But then the door flew open, and she heard the end of a chant: _"… Lettuce Rush!"_ A magical water blast knocked the wand from her hand and hurled her against the wall, where she fell in a heap. She saw her wand on the floor where she had been standing, and scrambled toward it. But the monster in green was there, and it scooped up her wand. Touching that wand should have burned the evil creature, but apparently it did not. It stood there holding it while shouting for reinforcements.

Michiru hurled herself at the monster and caught a green boot in the face. Once again she was knocked to the floor, and when she tried to rise again, she saw that the tall wolf-monster in purple had charged into the room. She heard its voice: _"Ribbon: Zakuro Spear!"_ And a magical whip lashed her. The pain was excruciating, as once again she was hurled against the wall. She tried to rise again…

She couldn't. Her legs gave way as she tried to stand. Still she pushed herself up with her arms. Without her wand she could not transform and had no chance to win. But she would die fighting! Her legs seemed to be jelly, and so she crawled across the room to the bed. The room was small, and so the bed was close. Using the bed, she pulled herself up. She would die like a true Senshi!

But the creatures stopped their attack. The purple-clad creature took the wand from the green-clad one, and looked at it. And then she spoke: "So you do use an item to transform? We were wondering where this was. Magically generated, eh?"

Michiru's body was still racked with pain, and she was gasping for breath. She said nothing to the monster, though, but just stared defiantly. And a small smile twisted the creature's face, and it said, "We expected you to try something. If one of us had been in your position, we would have done the same." The creature gave the wand back to the green-haired one, and approached Michiru. "Can you do it again, or is there only one transforming item?"

But Michiru shook her head and said nothing.

So the creature said, "Still won't talk, eh? Well, for that, you get a full-time guard." She turned to the green creature. "Lettuce-chan, sit up with her tonight. And Lettuce, if she tries anything, show no mercy. Kill her if you must! Do you understand?"

The thing she had called Lettuce set its chin but did not respond. The taller creature took the wand back one more time, and said, "Lettuce, don't let your soft heart get us all killed. I'll come in about four, and let you get some sleep. Until then, stay awake, keep your distance from her, and – no mercy. Understand?"

The creature in green nodded a little; and the tall wolf-creature stalked out and shut the door behind her.

Michiru collapsed on the bed, with her useless legs still on the floor. The pain was still overwhelming, especially in her legs. She tried to get up on the bed, but failed, and collapsed again with still greater pain. A small grunt escaped her lips before she could control it.

The green-clad monster took a step toward her, and then stopped. It hesitated a few seconds, and then spoke, with a quiet voice: "I would help you, but you'd just attack me. We got your pendant-thing and I don't think you can transform, but maybe you have another way, or maybe you have another weapon, or maybe you're some kind of kung-fu champ that can kill me with your bare hands. In any case, I won't help you. That is…." The beast-girl took a deep breath. "That is, I won't help unless you promise you won't try to hurt me or escape." It took another step closer, and then stopped again. "And remember," it said, "this room is under surveillance, and the door is locked from the outside. If you can't break out in seconds, they'll be all over you."

The creature grew silent, and waited. Michiru tried once more to pull herself onto the bed, but failed again. The pain was becoming ever more unbearable. She had felt magic-shock before, but never had she experienced any pain like that dealt by the wolf-creature's whip. So finally, she picked her head up from the bed, and moaned, "Help…"

"Do you swear you won't try to hurt me, or escape?" the green-haired creature demanded.

"Help…" Michiru gasped again. But the creature still did not move; and finally Michiru gave in. "OK, OK," she gasped. "I … swear…" And her head collapsed onto the bed again.

The creature finally stepped forward and gently took the broken Michiru in her arms and lifted her onto the bed. As they stretched her legs out, the pain lessened, and Michiru finally breathed more easily.

Then the creature stepped back and asked quietly, "Now, can you tell me – just who are you?"

But Michiru just turned her head away and slowly slipped down into the comforting darkness.

* * *

It was sometime in the late morning when Michiru awoke. She was still stiff and sore, but her body had overcome the magic shock, and her legs were working again. Stiffly she got out of the bed and took her trip to the bathroom. The tall wolf-creature was her guard, and the creature watched her in silence.

In a few minutes she emerged from the bathroom, but now the small bedroom was full. All five of the monsters were present, including the pink one she had defeated the day before, as well as a tall and slender blond man. In silence Michiru made her way back to the bed and sat upon it.

The pink-clad creature stepped forward and stood in front of Michiru. "I'm Momomiya Ichigo," the creature said, trying to smile with little success. "And you?"

Michiru said nothing, but simply stared with disdain at the monster.

After several uncomfortable seconds, the tall wolf-monster stepped up to Michiru. "Listen!" it barked. "Yesterday you attacked us, and you nearly killed Ichigo. We don't know who you are, or why you attacked us. We haven't done anything to you, whoever you are. So who are you? Or are you ashamed to say who you are?"

A fire burned in Michiru's eyes. How dare these _things_ say that she was ashamed of what she was? But if she told them, she might give them an advantage in battles to come. So instead of answering the question, she asked a question herself. "Yesterday, you said that you 'got' another girl like me. Did you kill her?"

The wolf-creature stared in anger, but it answered the question. "We left her on the ground, unconscious, in bad shape. She was breathing, though. After we saved Ichigo, we checked, and her body wasn't there. So whether she's alive or dead, I don't know. But someone found her." It pointed its finger in Michiru's face. "Now we answered your question, you answer ours. Who are you?"

Michiru ignored the creature's anger. "Why did you attack her?"

The creature in purple showed no more anger at Michiru's insolence. "You fool," it said, in a low voice. "Your companion attacked Pudding without warning, tried to kill her. We took her down as a matter of self-defense. Now, who are you?"

Then the pink creature added, "Don't pretend that you guys didn't start it. You tried to kill me, without warning. You just attacked. I have every right to know who you are and why you tried to kill me! Who the hell are you?"

Michiru stood and looked down on the pink monster. "I am Kaioh Michiru," she said proudly.

"And who is Kaioh Michiru?" the purple monster demanded. "Is that name supposed to mean something to us?"

But Michiru just stared at her and said nothing. Ugly silence reigned for several seconds; but then the little creature in yellow asked suddenly: "That tall blonde girl that tried to kill me - is she Sailor Moon?"

Michiru started, and for a second her eyes flew open. She quickly regained control, but her enemies had seen her reaction, and the purple creature smiled knowingly as she spoke: "Sailor suit, blonde hair. Then Sailor Moon is real? Well, she isn't so great as they say she is. We took her down pretty quickly."

But Michiru said nothing. She had been surprised that these things knew about Sailor Moon. But clearly they were clueless as to just whom they were dealing with, and she wanted to keep it that way.

Then the purple thing asked, "Look. You can put on the tough-girl act all you want. We need to know who you are, and we'll stay after you until we find out. We'll beat it out of you if you make us. Out of the blue, you attacked us and tried to kill us. Who are you? Why did you attack us?"

Then the green monster said, "If we knew why you were attacking us, maybe we could work something out and end the fighting."

That one really was a softie, Michiru thought. Maybe for that reason, this time she chose to answer. "You are monsters, half-animal, half-human. You've already destroyed one planet, and now you've come here, to destroy the innocents here. Don't deny it! We will defend this world against your kind."

It was the pink creature who retorted, "What other planet? We've never been anywhere but here. We've defended this world against aliens and monsters. That's the truth!"

But Michiru simply snorted and said nothing. More uncomfortable silence followed, as Michiru stared at the monsters, and they stared back. Her eyes searched them one by one. The pink one: great magic power. The purple one: hard and dangerous. The green one: soft but smart, not one to be fooled with, and not the key to escape that she had thought. The yellow one: a fearless child. And the blue one: she was hard, to be sure; but then Michiru noticed something else. All of the others were staring at her, but the blue one was not. The bird-creature was staring at the tall creature in purple. And her eyes betrayed what she was thinking to Michiru, for Michiru had been there before herself. The bird-creature's eyes were filled with desire.

Then the blond man spoke for the first time. "Leave her here. She can't transform, she can't escape. We'll keep her until she talks, or until she rots." Then they all left, leaving the bird-girl behind as her guard.


	6. Chapter 5: Something Is Very Wrong

**Chapter 5  
Something Very Wrong  
**

Sailor Saturn was breathing heavily as she finally reached the rented home where Setsuna was staying. She was strong when she was transformed, but she was still small, and she had had to half-carry the tall Sailor Uranus all the way back from the park where she had found her. Haruka was trying to walk as best she could, but there was no strength in her legs, and she leaned heavily on the smaller girl and gasped weakly for her breaths. Hotaru's power had saved her, but she was still weak and still hurting.

Still, they had made it to Setsuna's place, and Hotaru rang the doorbell. At first there was no response, so Hotaru rang the bell again. She was becoming quite concerned; perhaps Setsuna also had been attacked by the monsters. She rang the bell a third time and continued to wait, holding up the battered Haruka.

Finally the door opened, and Setsuna stood there, tall and regal as always, but this time she was clearly perturbed; and apparently for the first time in her life, she appeared before some of the other Senshi with her hair less than perfectly-arranged. "What do you want now, Hotaru-chan?" she muttered, while her eyes took in the damage that Haruka had received.

"Meioh-sama," the younger girl responded, "Haruka needs a lot of care. I brought her here, because I think this is the safest place to bring her."

Sailor Pluto shook her head slightly. "You should have brought her to Michiru. Those two can't be separated, anyway."

"Meioh-sama, I don't know where Neptune is. Haruka says that after she and Neptune took down one of the monsters, they separated. And so Haruka ended up fighting four of the monsters at once, and was defeated." When Hotaru said the word "defeated," Haruka grunted in disagreement; but Sailor Saturn ignored the tall girl's objection.

"So you don't know where Michiru is?" Sailor Pluto asked.

And Sailor Saturn responded quietly, "No, Setsuna-sama." The taller, older Sailor Pluto made no response to that, but quietly stared, her eyes communicating severe reproach. But just as Sailor Saturn had ignored the objection of Sailor Uranus, so now she ignored the disdain of Sailor Pluto. She was the most powerful of the Senshi, except for Sailor Moon herself, and she knew it. And so she said, "Setsuna-sama, Haruka needs rest and healing. She was hurt very badly – she was near death when I found her. At least let her stay here until we find Michiru."

The tall girl from Pluto hesitated for several seconds, but then spoke quietly: "Of course. Bring her in, and lay her on the sofa over there." She stepped back, and Hotaru helped the battered Haruka through the door.

Then she spoke: "The sofa? What about a bed? She needs a lot of rest."

But Setsuna responded, "A bed… there is only one bed in this small apartment, and it's not ready for her yet. I haven't had time to make it yet today."

Hotaru looked at her with many questions in her eyes, but said nothing. She nodded in agreement and half-carried Haruka to the sofa, where she finally unburdened herself, laying the tall girl down there. And then at last Sailor Uranus released her transformation, and lay there as Tenoh Haruka, in her manlike shirt and pants, her short blonde hair falling down over her eyes.

They brought some water and cleaned her up as best they could, then covered her with a blanket and left her there to rest. That was all she wanted, Haruka had said. So they turned the light down, and stepped out through the front door.

When they were alone outside the door, the older girl said quietly, "The enemy – what were they like? Like I told you?"

The younger girl responded, "Yes, they were. Half-human, half-animal. Actually, they appeared mostly human, but with some animal appendages, like ears and tails."

A slight smile twisted Setsuna's lips; her information had proved correct. Then she said, "I'll fix the bed up and get Haruka there. You'll have to look for Neptune. Maybe those monsters got her, too."

"Maybe," the younger girl responded. "But if those things could bring down Haruka, we'll need help against them. I'll check out Sailor Moon and her gang."

"No!" Sailor Pluto came back, suddenly and harshly. "There is no way that we, the Outer Senshi, are going to beg Sailor Moon and her childish friends for help. We don't need them! We're far more powerful than they are!"

"If Michiru is hurt, six searchers would likely find her far more quickly than one," Hotaru said quietly.

But Setsuna simply shook her head, and said, "No!" She watched as the younger girl frowned for a second; but the girl from Saturn said nothing. Instead, she turned to go.

But Setsuna's voice turned her back. "Before you go, tell me what happened. You said that Haruka fought four of them alone. Why didn't you help her?"

Sailor Saturn stared, almost with anger, into the eyes of the taller girl. The question was cruelly insulting, and both of them knew it. "I went as soon as you told me to go," she said through gritted teeth. "When I found her, Haruka was already down, with the four monsters surrounding her."

"Why didn't you attack?" Sailor Pluto demanded.

"If I had struck them down, I would have killed Haruka. They were all standing around her, very close to her," Sailor Saturn said defensively.

"I told you to destroy them at any cost," Setsuna muttered. Her anger was beginning to show.

But Hotaru just shook her head slowly. "I would never kill one of the Senshi, except to save the world."

"Well then, why didn't you take them down after they left Haruka there on the ground?" Setsuna asked in a very harsh tone.

"At first, Haruka was in the line of fire." Hotaru's voice was bitter. "After that, I could have pursued them, or I could have saved Haruka. Sailor Uranus was near death. I chose to save her."

Sailor Pluto's voice came, cold and heartless: "I ordered you to destroy them at any cost. I told you that they had already destroyed one world, and now they were going to destroy this one."

Hotaru's emotions finally snapped. "How do you know?" she barked, the anger now clear in her voice. "And what world did they destroy? None of the planets have been attacked. We would know."

Now anger rose in Setsuna's eyes as well. "You doubt me? Listen, little girl: the destroyed planet is outside of this solar system. But I have seen the results of their evil attacks: the pitiful remnants of a proud, civilized, advanced people reduced to helplessness and starvation. And if that happens here, because you foolishly let them go – I will never forgive you, and you will pay the price for your foolishness."

But the young girl stood her ground, her dark eyes hard. "I would never let one of the Senshi die like that, if I could help her."

Sailor Pluto gritted her teeth. Saturn was just beginning to turn teen-ager, bumping up against puberty, and it was beginning to show in her attitude. Yet she mastered her anger enough not to lose it, and said it a low, hard voice, "Go now, find Michiru. And if you find any of those monsters, destroy them. Show them no mercy. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, I understand," the dark-haired girl muttered through clenched teeth; and she turned and left, walking down the road back toward the park. Setsuna watched her go, and then turned back to the house and passed through the door, closing it behind her.

* * *

Tomoe Hotaru stalked away from the apartment. Something seemed wrong to her, very wrong. Sailor Pluto never had treated her with such disrespect. And it was afternoon. Why wasn't the bed made? That seemed like a small thing, but Hotaru knew that it was not. Setsuna was very precise in her life. She would always make her bed, and do it right away in the morning. But beyond that, what difference did it make as to whether the bed was made or not? Setsuna was a particularly fastidious character, even for a Japanese; but Haruka had been very badly hurt, and they could certainly have laid her in a bed with wrinkled sheets. Furthermore, Hotaru had never seen Setsuna with her hair less than perfect. What was going on?

And besides those apparently minor things, there were greater concerns: why had Setsuna not come out to help fight the monsters? Why had she forbidden Hotaru to seek the help of Sailor Moon and the Inner Senshi? Yes, it was a matter of pride. She knew that the Outer Senshi held themselves superior to the Inner Senshi, and often looked down on them. But with the world in such danger, why would they not seek help from the Moon Princess herself? For she was the most powerful Magical Girl of all.

And besides, Hotaru had been right: if Michiru had been attacked and hurt or worse, six searchers would likely find her more quickly than one. When she reached the corner, she did not turn right toward the park, but turned left and started to run very quickly, heading for the Crown Arcade, where, since it was a Saturday, she would likely find Sailor Moon and her friends. She knew that Sailor Pluto had commanded her to avoid the Inner Senshi and to search for Michiru herself; but she did not care.

* * *

_Author's note: Readers (if anyone actually reads this), it would be nice if there would be at least one review, even if you hate the story! Reviews help motivate me (and most other authors, too) to keep writing._


	7. Chapter 6: Gathering Allies

**Chapter 6  
Gathering Allies  
**

At the top of the long stair Hotaru stopped for a breath. When she was not transformed, she was very frail; and she had been searching long, and as rapidly as she could. None of the Inner Senshi had been at the Crown Arcade; so she had tried Tsukino Usagi's house. But neither Sailor Moon nor any of her friends had been there, either. Usagi's mother had told her that her daughter and her friends had sometimes studied at the Hikawa Shrine. So Hotaru had hurried to the shrine and climbed the long stair up the mountain to the gate. And there she rested, dizzy from the long climb, gasping for breath.

There seemed to be little going on at the shrine, also. As she looked around, she could see no one. But perhaps they were inside one of the buildings, she thought; and so she weakly started along the path toward the main shrine. There was no one there, either, but there were a few smaller structures beyond, and she headed toward them. And then, finally, she heard voices – loud voices, discordant voices, voices raised in anger.

She hurried toward the voices, and found them coming from a small houselike structure. She slowed herself when she reached the structure, and listened. Eavesdropping was not proper, Hotaru knew. But she had learned in her short but hard life to gather information before she acted. So she paused, and listened beside the window.

A voice rose in anger. "What do you expect us to do? Run and hide? Abandon our Princess, abandon our duty? We have no choice. We have to fight them!"

A second voice, lower but just as harsh, responded, "Mako-chan, we have no chance! The dream is sure. If we fight those things, we die. All of us! And that includes our Princess. Yes, Usagi will die, also. We can't let that happen!"

Then, a quieter, calmer voice spoke. "Rei-chan, we don't even know if that dream is real. Or maybe it will only come true if we run from it. Maybe if we face up to those things – if they even exist – then we win."

"You always doubt me, Ami-chan," the harsh voice came back. "You always think you have all the answers, that you're so smart, that all of the answers are in that stupid computer of yours, that there's nothing mystical or in any way beyond your ken. Well, I'm telling you, my dreams are true, and I never had one as clear and vivid as this one. If we fight those things, we die. I suppose that's part of being Sailor Senshi – we've died before. But if we fight those things, Usagi dies. And that we can't let happen. No way!"

Yet another voice snorted quietly. "I never would have thought that the Senshi of the god of war would grow a yellow streak."

All the voices were silent following that insult. But then the harsh voice all but exploded: "Are you calling me a coward, Mina-chan? Maybe we should settle this right now!"

Hotaru caught her breath. She knew she was listening to the Inner Senshi; she recognized every voice. Were they going to fight among themselves?

But then a final voice spoke, quietly, "No!" And the other disputing voices were suddenly silent. And the voice of Sailor Moon continued, "No, we won't fight each other. We need each other, and anyway, I'm with Ami. We don't even know if those things in the dream are real."

At that moment Hotaru knocked on the door, and without waiting, entered. The five girls in the small room all stared, their mouths agape, as the small, slender girl from Saturn walked up to their circle. They all drew back from her, as if in fear.

And then she spoke, in her quiet voice. "Usagi-chan - Sailor Moon - and the rest of you – why do you back off from me?"

Usagi swallowed hard, but said nothing; so Makoto, Sailor Jupiter, spoke. "It's just that when you come, it's always when – when things are desperate. When we're in really big trouble."

"Hotaru-chan – for us you are the harbinger of doom," Ami, Sailor Mercury, said. Ami always liked to use big words.

"And… well, Rei had a dream, a bad one, and…" Minako, Sailor Venus, said.

Hotaru turned to Sailor Mars. She knew what was going on, but she did not want to admit that she had been eavesdropping, for she had the reputation of always being courteous. And so she said, "Rei-chan, if I may ask – what was your dream?"

Rai stepped forward, ahead of the other girls. "I had a dream, a premonition. And I have seen visions in the temple's sacred fire. There were monsters, half-human, half-animal monsters. There were so many of them, and they were destroying the world, so we fought them… and we died. All of us, even Sailor Moon." She took a deep breath. "My dream is sure, but the rest of them won't believe me. They don't think the monsters are real."

"They are real. I have seen them," Hotaru said, still in her quiet voice.

She could say no more, for all of the girls exploded with questions: "When? How many? What were they like? Did they attack you? How did you find out about them? Are they powerful?"

Hotaru held up her hand. "Just give me a minute! It was Setsuna, as usual, that found out about them. No, I don't know how. She didn't say – she doesn't like to give out any more information than she has to. She said that there were these half-animal monsters infesting the Earth, and that we had to destroy them before the Earth was destroyed. So we came here – that is, Uranus and Neptune and myself, Pluto was already here. Haruka and Michiru went out by themselves first – that's the way they always are, and they found one of them in Kumano Park. They apparently destroyed it, but then the two of them separated. I suppose they had another spat, they seem to have so many of them. And Haruka ran into a bunch of them. She fought, as you know she would, no matter what the odds, but she was defeated and nearly killed. When I got there there were four of them surrounding her. She was down and out, on the ground"

"Did you take them down?" Rei demanded.

Hotaru shook her head. "At first, I couldn't attack without hitting Haruka. Then when they left, I had to choose between saving Haruka or chasing them. I chose to save Haruka, though Setsuna was not pleased with me for that."

The other girls piled on with many more questions, and Hotaru patiently described what the monsters were like, how they fought, and what power they seemed to have. And when all those the questions were finally answered, Sailor Moon asked one more: "Well, what do you think? Can we beat them, or are we doomed?"

Hotaru stood silently for several seconds, thinking hard how to answer. "Haruka and Michiru fought one, and beat it. Four of them fought Haruka, and beat her. So I don't know if we're more powerful, one-on-one, or they are. They're magical, to be sure. But we're capable of beating them, and they're capable of beating us."

"How many of them are there?" Usagi asked.

Hotaru shook her head. "How would I know? I saw four, and the girls took down another. So there were at least five. But there could be five hundred, or five thousand. I don't know."

The others looked at each other with fear for several seconds, and then Minako asked, "Did you get a picture of them? On your phone, or something?"

Sailor Saturn shook her head. "I don't have a cell phone. If I did, I wouldn't have spent the last two and a half hours running all over town trying to find you girls."

"What?" all the girls gasped. They, being teenaged girls, thought of being without a phone as a fate worse than death.

Then Rei said, "We got one for my grandfather last Christmas, but the old goat never uses it. It's here at the shrine, and we'll let you use it." And the others nodded.

And finally Hotaru asked, "Now, I have something to ask you. Michiru seems to have never come back from the battle. Maybe she fell in with more of the monsters. Maybe she's dead. I need your help to search for her."

"So that's why you came!" Makoto said, with some bitterness. "You need us! Otherwise you Outer Senshi seem to think that you're too good for us."

Hotaru did not respond with any anger, for she knew that Sailor Jupiter's criticism was very true. "If I had known it would take me so long to find you, I would have just searched myself. But now, will you help me?"

It was Sailor Moon who answered. "Of course. We'll go right now. Kumano Park, you said?"

Hotaru nodded, and turned to go; but there was one more question. Sailor Mercury had her nose buried in her computer as usual, and she looked up and said, "You know, there's no news at all about any damage by these monsters, no here in the city, not anywhere in Japan, not anywhere in the world. How do you know they're so evil?"

Hotaru turned back to them, and answered, "Setsuna said that they had destroyed one planet already, a planet far more advanced than this one, and now they're here. And she's wiser than the rest of us."

The others muttered quietly, but they made no loud objection; and they left together, and searched for the missing Michiru. But they did not find her, nor any evidence of what might have happened to her, though they searched long into the night.


	8. Chapter 7: Taking Candy from a Baby

**Chapter 7  
Taking Candy from a Baby  
**

Kaioh Michiru wouldn't talk. They were after her again. They had all come in that morning; now it was only the purple creature and the blue one. They had badgered her, teased her, threatened her, tried even to bribe her. They had tried simple honesty as well as every sneaky trick that had ever been tried. But Michiru had said nothing; she had not told them who she was, nor where she was from, nor who her allies were. They were trying to wear down her resistance; but Michiru was patient. And she knew that if they had not killed Haruka – and they said they had not – then Haruka would, sooner or later, find where she was and come to rescue her. She had had more than her share of spats with Haruka, of course; Haruka's wandering eye was not easy to live with. But in the end, Haruka was as possessive as any woman could be, and was so ultracompetitive that she would consider the capture of her lover as a personal defeat. And she would never, ever admit defeat. She would come. Michiru was sure of that.

After at least an hour of endless questions, the purple-clad creature threw up her hands. "You just won't talk, will you? Well, we'll just keep you until you do!" Then she began turning away.

Michiru allowed herself the tiniest hint of a smile. She had won again, and they all knew it. She saw the momentary flash of anger in the wolf-girl's eyes. She would allow herself a big victory smile later; but for now, she would settle for this, lest the monsters become violent.

The wolf creature in purple turned to the bird creature in blue. "Minto, keep the guard for now. I have work to do." Then the wolf-thing began to leave; but the voice of the bird thing stopped it.

"Onee-sama, please stay." There was a touch of pleading in the voice.

The wolf-creature turned back, annoyance in her eyes. "Minto…" Her voice almost rose; but then it continued without showing emotion. "Minto, how many times have I told you, 'No?' Now, I said I have work to do. You guard the prisoner." And without another word, she left the room, her wolf-tail swishing in anger behind her. They heard the door lock after she left.

The small bird-girl was clearly hurt – almost devastated, Michiru thought. Why? The bird-girl clearly hero-worshipped the taller wolf-girl, but there was something else in her eyes besides that. Michiru was sure what she saw there, now. The bird-thing was wildly infatuated with the wolf-thing. That was odd, Michiru thought; she had never considered that even monsters could feel such things. But that infatuation would be her key to escape.

The bird-girl was almost in tears as Michiru approached her. "She's hard, isn't she?" she half-whispered.

The sadness in the bird-girl's eyes turned to anger. "Don't you dare…" she began. "Don't you even think of saying anything against Zakuro-san!"

Michiru kept her voice low and soothing. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "If it would not anger you so, I would say that she is a fool."

"Zakuro-san is no fool!" the bird-girl muttered through clenched teeth.

Again, Michiru shrugged, and turned away. "If you say so," she said very quietly. But then she turned back. "But it's clear you love her – please don't deny it – and she blows you off. And you're smart and attractive and – hell, you're just plain hot. Say what you will, bird-girl, but I wouldn't waste a chance like the one you're giving her."

The bird-creature's mouth dropped open. Clearly, she had thought her feelings for the wolf-creature had been hidden.

Yet the creature said nothing, so Michiru continued in an even lower voice. "I have a secret to tell you, and that will really impress her. But everything's under surveillance out here, so the secret will be known as soon as I say it, and it will do you no good." She watched the eyes of the bird-thing; clearly, Michiru had caught her in her trap. The bird-girl was now frightened and was saying nothing, so Michiru bent over and whispered quietly in the creature's ear, "Do they keep the bathroom under surveillance?"

There was a hesitation, and then the bird-thing whispered back, "Not even Ryou is that much of a pervert."

"Then after a few minutes I'll go into the bathroom, and then I'll pretend something is wrong and call you in, and I'll tell you the secret," Michiru said, still whispering.

The bird-girl gasped and stiffened, but Michiru kept whispering. "Don't worry. What could I do to hurt you? You're transformed, and I am not. And besides, even if I could somehow hurt you, this room is locked, and I can't break out without my transforming wand. You'll be safe – I promise." And she looked into the bird-creature's eyes and smiled.

Finally the thing nodded, and Michiru backed away. She went and sat on her bed, while the monster stood near the door for several minutes. And then she got up and walked into the bathroom.

After a minute or so she called out, "Hey, bird-girl, the stupid thing won't flush. It's broken or something."

"Just hold your horses, I'm coming," the monster responded, and entered the bathroom herself.

As soon as the creature was far enough inside so the cameras could not see them, Michiru turned on the faucet and let the water run. Then she stepped forward and crowded the smaller bird-girl against the wall. She smiled softly, and her right hand reached out and touched the creature's cheek. It tried to pull its head back in fear, but it was against the wall and could not. Michiru, her voice now masked by the running water, spoke above a whisper, but still in a low voice. "She really is a fool, you know." The bird-thing gasped but said nothing. "You are one really hot girl," Michiru continued. Her right hand delicately danced down the cheek, under the ear and around the back of the thing's neck. And at the same time, her left hand unbuttoned her own blouse, showing off her shapely cleavage. "Do you want to play in there, bird-girl?" her low, sexy voice continued. Then her right hand slid down and embraced the bird-thing's small breast.

The thing's eyes were wide, and her breaths were coming quickly, almost in gasps. She was thoroughly frightened, but she muttered, "My name… I have a name. It's… Minto."

Michiru smiled. "Minto. I like that, I really do. As I said, my name… is Michiru." Then her head bent forward and her lips engulfed the bird-creature's. The kiss was long, tender, and passionate; and Michiru felt the thing's body, at first so stiff, melt into softness, and she felt her own kiss returned.

Finally, Michiru broke off the kiss, and again smiled. "If you come tonight," she said with longing, "I'll teach you some real secrets, and you'll never think of the wolf-girl again. I've had many women, bird-girl, ah, Minto – but you're really special."

The bird-thing nodded, and Michiru whispered, "Remember, tonight. Now we'll flush the toilet and pretend you fixed it." She smiled, and the monster smiled back. Then they flushed the toilet, and as she left the bathroom, the creature said, a bit too loudly, "Gee, it isn't that hard to fix a stuck toilet, you know."

A few seconds later, Michiru emerged into the main room. Her face showed nothing, but the creature was staring at her, and its eyes were wild with desire. And Michiru turned to her bed, and when her back was to where she thought the surveillance camera was, she smiled. So simple, she thought. It was like taking candy from a baby. And anyway, it – she? – was hot, quite hot. Michiru's smile turned to a somewhat cynical sneer. Perhaps she had found out what Haruka sought in all of her sordid little dalliances. Well, thought Michiru, she, too, could play that game, and play it without guilt. Haruka and touched so many other young girls. Michiru had this one coming, and a lot more, besides.

* * *

It was late at night when Michiru awoke. She was lying on the bed, half-undressed. Her only guard was the little monkey-girl in yellow. And it sat on a stool near the door, its head nodding. It was so very young to be caught up in this, Michiru thought. So very young, so very small! Michiru measured the distance to it and wondered: could she reach the creature before it awakened? A quick leap, and she could be on it. Then, though it was transformed, it could not make its attacks, and Michiru could dispatch it quickly enough.

But that would do no good, she thought. She still would be locked in the room, still without her transforming wand or any other means of escape. She thought that maybe if she held the little monkey-thing as a hostage, the others might let her out; but they were monsters, and almost surely would not care if one of their number perished. And Michiru knew that it would be nearly impossible for her to maintain control of a transformed creature when she herself was not transformed. And if they caught her, she would have to pay a heavy price for what she did to the hateful little thing.

So she lay there on the bed and did nothing. Then the door clicked, and the blue bird-girl came in. She touched the nodding monkey-thing on the shoulder, and that one looked up at the bird-girl. And the bird-creature said, "Pudding-chan, it's too late for you. Go home to your siblings, and I'll watch for the rest of the night." The monkey-girl nodded sleepily, rose from the stool, and left the room.

Then the bird-creature approached Michiru, nodded, and went into the bathroom. Michiru thought that she had hidden the fact that she was awake; the bird-thing was more observant than she had thought. In any case she got up from the bed and entered the bathroom herself.

The bird-girl – Minto – approached her there. It looked into her eyes and whispered, "Well?" Then its eyes closed, and its lips opened to Michiru's.

And Michiru kissed her, long and passionately. This time they tongue-kissed, something Michiru was very good at. The younger girl – Michiru was starting to think of her as a girl now, rather than a monster – was getting all excited. Then she pulled back from the kiss, smiled, and whispered, "Michiru-san, I think I love you."

And Michiru smiled in return. "Do you really love me? Then prove it."

The other girl's smile turned from warm to sassy. "And how would I do that?" Her arms, now around Michiru's neck, pulled the aqua-haired Senshi's face back toward her lips.

And Michiru whispered, "You know the answer to that. Get me out of here."

"If I take you out of here, the rest will know. I can't turn off the surveillance system," the bird-girl said.

"Well, which do you want – them or me?" Michiru put on a sassy smile of her own, and that smile was a whole lot sassier then the younger girl's.

"Let me see," Minto said; and her lips embraced Michiru's again. There was more kissing, and more tongue-kissing, before finally the little bird-girl pulled back. "You," she said. "I want you."

Michiru nodded. But then she said, "Is anyone watching the surveillance system?"

The girl shook her head. "They're all gone, or dead to the world. They won't even know you're gone until morning, when they check this room and find it empty." Then she gave another quick kiss and turned to leave.

Michiru quickly pulled on her skirt and shoes and followed the other to the door. Minto opened the door with a key, and after peeking out and seeing no one, slipped through the door, with Michiru right behind. The girl whispered, "Down this hall, through the door on the left at the end, up a flight of stairs, and out through the kitchen and the dining room."

She turned to go, but Michiru said, "No."

The girl turned back, surprise on her face, and Michiru whispered, "I won't go anywhere without my transforming wand. I wouldn't be safe without it."

The girl whispered back with some heat, "Ah, if you had that, you might attack me."

"Afraid you can't handle me?" Michiru teased.

And Minto said, "I'd take you in a fair fight, but that fool Ichigo said you shot her in the back."

Michiru smiled. "I'd never do that to you. No, if we fought, it would be a fair fight. And I'd take you."

"Would you kill me?" Minto asked.

Michiru shook her head, and, oddly, smiled. "No, dearie. I'd want you alive, so I could have some fun with you, after I won."

Minto's eyes popped wide open at that last remark; but then she smiled in return. "Just wait here," she whispered. She headed down the hall before turning to the right and at the end and disappearing from sight.

Michiru waited nervously. The building seemed completely quiet, but if any of the monsters found her, she would be helpless, for she could not transform. It seemed like ages, but it was less than five minutes later that Minto returned with the transforming wand in her hand.

The girl hesitated a second before giving it to Michiru. Clearly she did not completely trust Michiru yet. But in the end she gave it to the taller girl, and as Michiru's hand took it, she could feel the power coursing through it.

"Well. Are you going to transform?" Minto said.

But Michiru shook her head. "Not here," she whispered; and she headed for the end of the corridor and the stairs up to the kitchen. Minto walked beside her, looking nervous, but somehow proud. They met no one as they crept up the stairs, crossed the kitchen and the dining room, and slipped through the front door. Michiru took a deep breath; she was free at last!

They hurried up the road that led from the café, and after they turned a corner and the ugly building was out of sight, Michiru held out the wand in her right hand. "Nepture!' she chanted; and spinning in the air, she transformed into the most beautiful, elegant magical girl of all the Sailor Senshi: Sailor Neptune.

And then she kissed Minto, said quietly said to her, "Well, do you want to come with me?"

"Why should I?" Minto asked.

"I have a surprise for you back home," Michiru said.

"Maybe you're going to grab me, and make me a prisoner, to get back at the Mew Mews for what we did to you," Minto whispered somewhat harshly.

Michiru seemed hurt at that last remark. The girl was almost unbelievable naïve, she thought; but she was not totally stupid. So she said, "And you, Minto, might be using this to track me, to have me lead you my allies, so you and your friends can attack us." Michiru turned away. "I thought you would trust me more than this, after what we shared this night."

She turned back to Minto, and the bird-girl said, "I'll go with you. I love you, and I have to trust you, I guess."

"Then let's head for the bus stop, " Michiru said; but Minto retorted,, "The bus stop? At this hour? You're kidding." And in a flash she drew out her cell phone and called a taxi. "We'll have to lose our transformations before he comes," she said quietly.

* * *

The taxi ride was not long, and the cab left the two girls in front of a tall and quite elegant apartment building. Minto paid the fare, and then the cab pulled away in to the night. Michiru reached into her pocket, and shook her head. "I forgot," she whispered. "They took my keys when they captured me."

"You mean these?" Minto said triumphantly, holding up some keys and cards on a chain. "They were in the safe with your wand."

Michiru took them, and approached the door. It had a card-entry lock, and Michiru's card opened it. Then they silently crossed the dimly-lit lobby to the elevator, and took it to the very top floor. The hall there was also dimly lit, and they took it to the right, until they stopped in front of room 2014. It had another card lock, and this one opened also. And Michiru led the younger girl into the apartment.

She closed the door behind them, and then called out in a low voice, "Haruka?" But there was no answer. She crossed the room to where there was a closed door, opened it a little, and peeked in. Then she closed the door and turned to Minto. "Haruka isn't here," she said. "That's the girl I… stay with." She hit a switch on the wall, and the light came on.

Minto looked around. The apartment was roomy for one in Tokyo, and very well appointed with elegant and clearly expensive furnishings.

"Nicer than you're used to, I suppose?" Michiru said.

But Minto responded, "My family… has great wealth. I live in a 32-room mansion with a dozen servants. You have fine and elegant tastes, but this stuff doesn't impress me." She walked over to the tall, aqua-haired girl. "It's you that impresses me, not your things." She looked up into the other's eyes. "Well, where's that surprise you promised me?"

Michiru, for the first time, hesitated. It had been much too easy to escape from the monsters. And the little bird-girl who had taken her to freedom had become so very confident, too confident. And she was a monster, half-human, half-bird. And she had a cell phone, which she could use to call the rest of the monsters – or the monsters could use to track her. Michiru wondered just who was the one that was taking the candy, and who was the baby.

And there was the matter of Haruka, and what she might think. But as Michiru looked down at the girl who had abandoned her friends out of desire for her, she smiled. Haruka had too long taken her for granted, and if she found out, she would learn a lesson about treating her lover right. She would trust the girl, because she wanted to.

And she opened the door, and there was an elegant bed, empty, waiting for them. "Surprise!" she whispered.

Minto, with a little hesitation, stepped into the bedroom. Then Michiru turned off the light; and what followed is best left in the darkness.


	9. Chapter 8: Consequences

**Chapter 8  
Consequences  
**

It was morning. Michiru tied the sash to close her soft, white-silk dressing robe and stepped through the bedroom door. Behind her Minto still slept in the bed, breathing softly. Michiru smiled as she looked back; she didn't think of the one in the bed as a monster or creature any more. She was someone, now. She was Minto.

She was still smiling contentedly when she heard the door. The lock turned, the door opened, and Haruka entered. She didn't see Michiru, at first, as she reached for the light switch on the wall. But as she turned, her eyes popped wide open, and her jaw dropped.

"Good morning, Haruka," Michiru said with a quick and very sassy smile.

Sailor Uranus stood in complete shock. "Mich… Michiru! We thought… we thought you were… We thought that those things… got you!" She stood as if rooted to the floor.

Michiru walked up to her, swaying her hips. She was immensely enjoying seeing her lover so shaken. Haruka always wanted to be in charge and always acted as if she was. "Those things, as you call them… yes, they got me. Took me by surprise, captured me. They imprisoned me, tried to make me talk. But of course they couldn't. And I escaped last night."

Haruka swallowed, hard. "Don't make so light of it! We were so worried! _I_ was so worried! We were all afraid that we'd lost you!"

"I'm tougher than that, Haruka," Michiru responded, her smile getting ever sassier. "Now I've found out their lair, and gotten to know them. We won't have any trouble destroying them, now."

Haruka forced a smile in return. She didn't like it when her lover tried to take the dominant role. "Well, at least you're home. Things haven't been going well since you disappeared. That foolish child Sailor Saturn went and asked the Inner Senshi for help in finding you, so now they think that we're in need of them." She didn't mention that she herself had been crushed by the Mew Mews and nearly killed. "If you hadn't let yourself get caught by those things, we wouldn't be in the sorry position of begging that moron Sailor Moon for help."

Michiru just kept smiling. "Ah, Haruka, my dear, I know that they beat you and left you nearly dead. They told me." She winked.

"They lied!" Haruka barked before muttering a string of curses.

But Michiru just kept smiling, and she shook her head. "Really? Please, I know better." She turned away. "Well, I suppose I should get dressed, and we can head down to see Setsuna." She headed for the bedroom.

But Haruka now charged after her. She _really_ didn't like it when Michiru talked down to her. "Hey, I'm not done…" she began. But then, her voice changed as she got to the bedroom door. "Who the hell is that?"

For Minto had been awakened by the voices, and was sitting up in the bed, shielding herself with the sheets, though it appeared that she wore a pendant around her neck, and nothing else.

Michiru turned back, again with the sassy smile on her face. "Oh, Haruka, this… is Minto." She turned to the girl in the bed, who sat, literally shaking, with her mouth open and a shocked look in her eyes. "Minto, this is Haruka. My… uh… friend."

Haruka's voice spluttered with anger. "Your _friend?_" She took a deep, gasping breath. Then she shouted: "How DARE you, Michiru, you… you…! And in our own bed! You…" Her voice choked in anger.

The aqua-haired girl stood her ground, and pointed her finger at her raging lover. "After all the cute girls you've hit on over all the years we've known each other, you get mad at me for this? Look at the way you hit on Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus, right in front of my face! You know, I think the real reason that you don't want to go to them for help – that you don't want them around – is that you struck out with both of them."

Haruka's face was red with rage. "I never defiled our own bed!"

But Michiru responded, "And where were you last night, my… lover? Wandering the streets alone? I don't think so!"

"Where I was last night is none of your business!" Haruka muttered through clenched teeth. "Now get out of my way, and I'll get the vermin out of our bed."

But Michiru crossed her arms and held her ground. "No, you won't, Haruka." Her voice was strong, final.

"You can't stop me, you weakling," Haruka said in a low, evil voice.

"Really?" Michiru said; and then she held out her right hand. "Neptune!" she chanted.

Haruka's eyes flew wide open. "Why you… you wouldn't…" And then she stretched out her hand, and chanted in her turn: "Uranus!"

Then, simultaneously, their voices chanted, "MAKE-UP!"

Each of the rivals spun up into the air and began her transforming dance. But in the bed Minto looked on in fear, and she knew what she had to do. She kissed her pendant, and chanted, _"Mew Mew Mint, meatamorpho-SIS!"_ And she, too, began transforming.

And when all three finished transforming, Sailor Uranus saw what had become of the girl in the bed, and in raging anger, she screamed, "One of THEM! You're sleeping with the freaking enemy! Get out of my way, and I'll destroy the damned thing!"

But Michiru crossed her arms and would not move. "No, lover. I owe her this much. She's the one who got me out, so I could escape the monsters."

Haruka stalked up and poked her finger into Michiru's chest. "Those bastards nearly killed me! And I'll bet that thing on our bed was one of them that attacked me! Just whose side are you on?"

Michiru pushed her lover's hand away roughly, and anger sparked in her eyes. "Do you forget, Haruka, that it was we who attacked them? That pink thing we brought down was just standing there when we attacked it. And they tell me that you attacked one of them, and that's why they took you down."

"And you believe those things? They're monsters! They're destroying this world, just like they destroyed that other one!" Haruka barked in anger. And she harshly pushed Michiru back.

"Don't you touch me that way!" Michiru half-shouted through gritted teeth.

"Then try to stop me! Because you know you can't!" Haruka sneered.

Michiru did not respond. She had had many spats and squabbles with Haruka in the past, but nothing had ever gotten close to being this bad. She stared into the raging eyes of Sailor Uranus, and she knew that she was a breath away from attacking. And she knew that Minto would not stand idly by. She also would strike at Haruka. And then, Haruka would fall. But Michiru did not want that. And so she said, loudly, "Minto, please! Get out while you can!"

"No!" the bird-girl said. "I won't leave you when you're in danger! I love you!"

Michiru's voice got very hard. "Minto, if you love me, you will leave. Now. We don't need any killing, and that's what is coming, if you don't leave."

"But she'll attack you! She'll hurt you! She might… she might kill you!" Minto whined.

"No, Minto," Michiru said in a lower voice, while still staring into Sailor Uranus' eyes.. "If you're gone, the danger… will pass. No, please! If you love me like you say, leave! Leave now!"

And Minto looked into the raging eyes of Sailor Uranus, and stared at the back of Sailor Neptune, who so bravely shielded her. Then she turned away and stepped off the bed. She threw the window open, and plunged through it, and was gone.

"Michiru!" Haruka gasped. "We're on the twentieth floor!"

And both of the girls ran to the window and looked down; but they could see no body on the pavement below. Then Michiru looked up, and smiled suddenly. She pointed up, not down, and said, "Ah, I see our little bird-girl can fly." For Minto was indeed flying, heading away rapidly toward the east.

Sailor Uranus reached up, to seize the power of the Earth, but Neptune took her arm, and said, now quietly: "No, Haruka. She's too far away, and you don't want to reveal us by an attack that can't hit."

Haruka shook her lover's hand off her arm and turned to her, taking her by the shoulders. "You stinking traitor! You let the enemy escape!" she said bitterly.

"She's not our enemy any more, Haruka, my dear," Michiru answered with a half-smile. "Her heart belongs to me. I own her. If she fights, she'll fight for us."

But Haruka would not accept that. "Really? And you're so sure? She's still a monster. She'll turn on you the first chance she gets."

But Michiru shook her head. "She loves me, Haruka. She's a girl in love, and she'll do what I want, in the end."

"So now she's your lover?" Haruka's voice rose in anger once again.

Sailor Neptune shrugged her shapely shoulders. "I said she loved me. I didn't say I loved her."

"Well, do you?" Sailor Uranus demanded.

The aqua-haired girl made no answer, and so with eyes once more filled with raging anger, Haruka demanded, "Well, which one do you love? Her, or me?"

Michiru turned away, and for the first time, her voice grew soft. "Haruka, I have been your lover for years now, and for years you have taken me for granted, flirted with other girls right in my face. It's not a few times I felt as if I was nothing but a toy for you to play with when you got lonely, but a toy to be cast aside when you found something you liked better." She turned suddenly back to the girl from Uranus. "Be honest with me. If you could have seduced Sailor Moon, like you wanted, which one would you have chosen in the end? Her, or me?" Haruka said nothing, so she continued, " I think I know the answer to that. You wanted both. You wanted me here at home for you, while you scored Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus and all of the rest of the girls you hit on." She took a step forward and the two girls' bodies touched, and she stared into her lover's eyes from only a few inches away. "Last night that girl looked me in the eyes and I was all that she wanted. I knew there was no one else but me in her heart. It felt wonderful, Haruka. For a little while, I was the whole world to her."

Tall Haruka looked back into the aqua eyes of Sailor Neptune, and said in a low, hard voice, "She turned traitor against her friends when she got you out. How do you know she won't turn on you?"

Michiru looked away for a second, and then shrugged. "She might. But last night, she did not. She left everything for me. And that made me feel special, special beyond belief."

And then Haruka said, "Then you choose her over me?"

But Michiru responded, "I choose… not to choose. Not now. I hardly know her, yet. And I'm so used to you." She backed off from the tall Sailor Uranus. "But I will choose, some day. Until then – you're still in the game, Haruka. Just know that if you hurt her in any way, it's over for us."

"You think I'm going to put up with you two-timing me?" Haruka asked bitterly.

"For a while, you'll have to, unless you just want to admit defeat, dump me, and go," Michiru responded. "Or else, you will learn what it's been like to be me all these years, loving you and having to put up with your… wandering eye, as they say."

"You'll pay for this, Michiru!" Haruka muttered. "Maybe I should just take you down and teach you a lesson you'll never forget."

"If you want to try me, lover, you'll find out that you're not half as tough as you think you are," Michiru said. "But the last Senshi who ever killed another Senshi was Galaxia. I don't want to be like her, and I don't think you do, either."

Haruka stared at her lover – or was it now former lover? – in anger and disgust. "Just don't push your luck, weakling."

Michiru did not respond to the insult. They had come far too close to a fight to the finish. So she simply said, "I think it's time we called Setsuna."

And Haruka said, "Now that we know where their lair is, it's time to take them down and rid the world of the monsters - all of them."

But Michiru said, "Minto won't be there, I'm sure. By now they will know that she had turned on them and helped me, and it won't be safe for her to be there with the rest of them."

And so Haruka called Setsuna; and when she turned off her cell phone, she said, "Setsuna says we should be at her house in two hours."

"Why two hours? Why not now?" Michiru asked; but Haruka just shrugged.

* * *

_Author's note: Once again, no reviews. Apparently people don't like this story at all! It would be nice to know why. Please note: I do not object to negative reviews._


	10. Chapter 9: More Consequences

**Chapter 9  
More Consequences  
**

Minto struggled with the window. It was stuck again. She kept this window to her bedroom unlocked; it was on the second floor, and so there was little danger that someone would try to enter it. Minto used it as a secret exit so she could sneak out when she wanted, using her Mew Mew powers to fly away. But when it got stuck, it was hard for her to open it when she returned, because when she was flying outside she did not have any solid surface on which to plant her feet. And so she just had to try to grab the window sash and try to fly upward; but that provided very little leverage to raise anything.

She had to come in the window, because if she came in the door in her transformed state, some of the help would see her and her hidden life as a magical girl would be hidden no longer. And if she gave up her transformation, she would appear clothed as she was before she transformed – wearing nothing but her pendant. And so she closed her eyes, and gritted her teeth, and flew upward with all her might, trying to pull the window open.

And then suddenly it flew open, and a strong hand seized her arm, and she was pulled violently through the window. And there stood Mew Zakuro, fully transformed, with anger blazing in her dark sapphire eyes. The older Mew Mew pushed Minto away, and she staggered back against her bed, hardly keeping her feet.

"Well, the little traitor has come home!" Zakuro muttered through clenched teeth.

Minto squirmed under the taller girl's grip. "How did you get in here?" she demanded. "This is my own private bedroom."

"I came to the door, and asked the help if I could wait for you here," Zakuro answered simply. "At least some of them knew that I know you. They're all worried, because you didn't come home last night. I told them that if they let me stay here, you'd come home. And I guessed right – the traitor did come home after all."

"Don't you call me a traitor," Minto retorted. "I was taken by the enemy, but I escaped! And now you attack me!"

"You were taken?" Zakuro asked with heavy sarcasm. "Do you forget that the room we kept that bitch in was under video surveillance? Don't tell me you were taken!"

"I went into the bathroom to unstick the toilet, and she jumped me," Minto lied desperately. "If I hadn't let her out, she would have killed me."

"Minto, you're a terrible liar." The tall wolf-Mew was barely controlling her temper. "You came out of that bathroom together, and you waited while she finished dressing. You were transformed, she was not, but you just waited. Then you left the room together, and you must have stolen her transforming wand, because it was gone this morning. Don't insult me by saying she forced you to do it."

Minto was silent for a second as she tried desperately to come up with a lie that would satisfy the other girl. But nothing would come to her mind. She was caught, and caught tightly.

Zakuro took a step forward. "Why, Minto? What did she give you, or promise you, that you would sell out your friends? Now they know where the Café is, and they're sure to attack. All your friends will likely die! Why, Minto, why? What did she give you?"

Minto looked down and said nothing at first. Then she looked up into the eyes of the other girl. "She gave me nothing. I already have everything, anyway. What could she promise me?"

The anger grew in Zakuro's eyes. "Then why did you betray us? That aqua-haired bitch nearly murdered Ichigo!"

"Small loss, if she had," Minto muttered, half under her breath.

But Zakuro's sharp wolf ears heard every word, and in anger she lashed her hand across Minto's face, knocking her down on the bed. "You… you…" Zakuro choked on her words. "That bitch tried to murder your friend! Do you understand that? Do you?"

Minto rose from the bed, and in anger, she half-shouted, "Don't you call her a bitch! Michiru is the most wonderful person I ever met! She's _WAY_ better than you – hotter, too!"

Zakuro's mouth dropped open as she realized what Minto's words implied. "She… she freaking _seduced_ you? She seduced you, and you betrayed us for that?"

"I love her! And she loves me!" Minto proclaimed with pride and desperation. At that Zakuro stood speechless, so Minto went on, "And so it's your fault! I loved you for so long, and you treated me like dirt! Now I found someone that will love me back! And she's WAY better than you!"

The anger that had raged in Zakuro's eyes now exploded. "So, because I have no use for… ah, er, ah… 'forbidden love,' that gives you the right to betray us to our deaths? You bastard, you'll pay for that!"

"You going to fight me, Zakuro?" Minto retorted haughtily. "Do you forget that we fought once before, and I beat you?"

"We were outside, and you had the advantage of flying," Zakuro barked back at her. "In here, you can't fly."

Minto leaped into the air as well as she could in the bedroom. _"Ribbon: Minto Echo!"_

"_Ribbon! Zakuro Spear!"_ came the answering chant.

They both spun into the air, and both lashed out. Minto shot her deadly energy arrow at her tall rival, but the more powerful Zakuro Spear split the arrow and lashed into Minto's body, who fell from the air, bounced off the edge of the bed, and hit the floor with a thump. The stunned bird-girl tried to rise and fight on, but Zakuro's deadly whip lashed again, and it crashed into the helpless Minto and hurled her back. Her body bounced over the bed and smashed into the wall behind it, and Mint's body fell to the floor in a heap and lay still.

The victorious Zakuro circled the bed and nudged Minto's body with her foot, but there was no response. Then she bent down and felt her throat for a pulse. There was life there, and Zakuro stood and thought for a second. The noise of the fight would undoubtedly bring some of the servants on the run. So she tore the Mew Mew pendant from around Minto's neck, took the defeated girl in her arms, and carried her to the still-open window. In a second, she stepped through it and leaped to the ground below. Then she threw Mint's body over her shoulder and ran. Perhaps some of the servants would see her as she ran across the lawn, but she did not care. She was worried that the enemy would already be attacking the Café, and she wanted to get Minto there where she could give no more aid to the enemy. She quickly reached the fence that surrounded the Aizawa estate, cleared it with a single leap, and was gone.


End file.
